The Leader's Hand and Sharing a Secret

"Everyone, when they take the embrace, it would be like telling a secret to the person you are dancing with." -- Carlos Gavito, Un tal Gavito

Somewhere, at some point, there was a debate about the leader's left hand position. Some of the older posts on the subject are on Alex Tango Fuego's blog and on TangriLa's blog - more about the thumb position actually, but it ties in. Really, it does. I can't find the more recent post that actually got me thinking about it, but if someone knows where it is, I'd really love to find it again.

In the classes I attended early on, leaders were told to have their left hand somewhat facing their own face. At first it reminded me a bit of this:

(David Tennant as Hamlet. Really this was just an excuse to have a picture of Tennant in my blog.)

How was that supposed to be comfortable? And recently the discussion, that I can't seem to locate now, is about that very thing. That the nearly "wrist-to-wrist" connection of the dancer's hands are more of an uncomfortable affectation, rather than a natural part of the tango embrace. And whenever a leader presented that embrace to me, my hand would sort of sink a bit in his with my fingers actually connecting to the palm, or where his wrist joins his hand. But I couldn't help noticing how beautiful images like this were:

(New York Times 2008)

And then of course, looking at Gavito's videos and pictures, I saw it again:

Photo courtesy of phototango.net.
And this one, from Tangoteca:

I must admit, though my mind was opening up a little bit to it, I still wasn't sure what the benefit was. I mean really, how big of a difference can it make?

And then Gavito actually talked about it specifically in the DVD I was watching. He mentioned that the sensation of feeling each other's pulse in the wrist added to the connection in the dance. No one had mentioned that before.

At the next milonga, when gentlemen (though only a few actually lead that particular hand position) offered that, I accepted fully, instead of dropping my hand slightly. If it was offered, I laid my wrist against my leader's wrist. It sounds silly doesn't it? Even overly dramatic, maybe?

But when I felt it - someone else's pulse against my wrist, it changed how thought of the embrace. It felt like sharing a secret language. No one can here it or see it. It's just a tiny thing - not even as strong as feeling my leader's heart beat against mine. But there it is. A whisper between us.

Ganchos . . . again . . .

(Image courtesy of Emilie Boudet: http://www.emilieboudet.com) From the Facebook comments on my "Expressing the music or dancing for tables" post: "But adornments can become problematic when they interfere with something I'm trying to do. (I have enough trouble as it is). Some of these are basically harmless and don't really bother me that much. Like some ladies insist on doing a gancho whenever I lead them to step over my leg. I'm mostly amused by this. Some girls just like their ganchos and will seize any opportunity to do one." Predictably, I have several problems with the above behavior. First of all, they aren't "their ganchos" ! The gancho for the follower is led. It is my (nearly fanatical) opinion that it should never be an adornment or something the follower just decides to do on her own . As someone who is now attempting to learn to lead, the last thing I want to see, or heaven forbid feel, is a stiletto heel near my crotch ....

"Proper" Tango Shoes

Periodically someone, usually a man, will be bring up the topic of "proper tango shoes." If he's referring to the problem (and dangers) of trying to dance in flip-flops, or mules, or platform shoes etc., those are definitely valid, and very helpful points to be made. The likelihood of damaging your feet is very high without the proper support of high quality shoes. My problem comes with the idea that the *only* proper tango shoes have 4" stiletto heels on them and fetish-worthy embellishments. (Okay, I'm pretty keen on the embellishments myself.) "goofy ballroomy shoes are a turnoff... get rid of them..." - Alex Tango Fuego (granted this is from 2007), http://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-dance-or-not-to-dancebrutally.html And, in the comments on a blog post, Anonymous said... " This is a controversial one. If a follower isn't wearing tango shoes then it's usually a good sign she's not particularly good." From Ms. Hedgeh...

Expressing music or dancing for tables?

Too much of a good thing? As sort of a follow-up to my thoughts on technique, I've run into a little snag I'd like some feedback. When I get compliments about my embrace, I'm absolutely elated. When someone compliments the way my walk feels, I feel accomplished. Compliments about my musicality - ditto. When I start getting lots of compliments about my foot work, however - I get worried. I shouldn't right? A compliment is a compliment, and should be taken graciously. It's certainly meant as a positive thing. It's a good thing if a dancer's feet are pretty - why else would everyone wear those silly, yet gorgeous, shoes? But like Richard Dreyfuss staring down his plate of mash potatoes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I can't help thinking it means something. Something not good. I don't mean like a backhanded compliment - but more like a fear that my priorities have unintentionally shifted. Maybe it's a community thing. Online I very often r...

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